Demanding audiences participating in the global bazaar of social media continue to pressure brands into reorienting their goals. Consumers demand a higher level of engagement that affords them a fulfilling, relevant experience anchored by the same common denominator—authenticity. From corporate giants to small businesses, marketers continue to seek ambitious social media initiatives in order to humanize their brands.

Some brands see this shift as an opportunity to get closer to their audiences, while others act like they’re caught in a digital mousetrap looking for an escape. Regardless of how these different firms respond, there’s no doubt about it: social technologies have had a dizzying effect not only on consumers but also on brands.

While some brands depend solely on Madison Avenue to dictate the rules of engagement, the smartest brands have found a new voice to humanize their image—their employees. Though these employees may appear softly spoken, there is little question whether their voices are being heard. Savvy audiences respond remarkably well to these messages, as a company’s employees represent the most authentic expression of a company’s brand. For many brands, such an approach marks a major shift in mindset.

Before a company can communicate well externally, it needs to communicate well internally. Companies that focus on honing their culture and employees via communication and education can create brands with a purpose. Brands need to start trusting the voices of their valued employees. In essence, brands need to become social.

Take, for example, this site, the AT&T Networking Exchange Blog. Bill Strawderman and Trish Nettleship spearheaded this blog in order to bring the digital voices of their employee ambassadors in the public sphere as part of the company’s effort to help foster authenticity. In an eMarketer article, Nettleship said, “The idea is to build that thought leadership and engage customers earlier in the research process, as they’re starting to learn about these technologies and how they are going to help their business.”

While it’s been over 12 years since the publication of the Cluetrain Manifesto companies are still trying to humanize their businesses. Internal communication among employees is critical for external communication to start the process. Despite the reality at most companies, these firms need to remember that people don’t think of a brand as a series of departments. Rather, they think of a brand as a whole entity.

The concept remains difficult for many brands, but companies are made up of people. Real people. Brands need to start tapping into this golden opportunity to elevate their brand relevance in a world where a person or business’s reputation can be destroyed in a mouse click. There’s liquid gold in the voices of employees, but few brands realize this unharnessed potential.

Apple’s Genius Bar is a lynchpin of the most successful retail concepts and innovative employee brand relationships of our time. Apple simply gets it: employee branding matters. According to David Aaker (@davidaaker), Vice Chairman at Prophet, in his Harvard Business Review post noted that the Genius Bar “enhances the customer relationship with its person-to-person approach.” Apple has created a “must have” new brand subcategory for retailers. Employees are on the front lines building relationships that matter. No other brand can claim “Genius Bar.”

Recently, I spoke to Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar), Chief Customer Officer for Enterasys Networks, who is actively engaged in social media about his company’s use of enterprising social collaboration to bolster brand awareness and recognition.

Afshar said, “In the social era, customers not only have choices, but voices with unprecedented scale and amplification. Companies must actively listen, engage and deliver value via social networks. For companies to demonstrate caring and interest, in a personalized social manner, they must invest and empower every employee to comfortably champion the company ethos and brand promise.”

I asked K. C. Donovan (@UpwardlyMe), CEO at Upwardly Me, what benefits brands will realize if they amplify their employee’s voices. His reply went straight to the point. “By relying on the voice of the employee,” Donovan says, “companies can snugly wrap their brand identity around their employment values and let company voices reflect the brand’s image.”

Make no doubt about it: consumers are charged. They want more experiences. More engagement. More rewards. More power. More purpose. More reciprocity. Consumers need a reason to connect, and any brand that doesn’t tap into their socially charged minds will cease to exist.

This post was originally published on AT&T’s Networking Exchange Blog.

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From the moment we wake up, brands bombard us with attempts to get our attention.  These marketers gear their advertisements and logos towards making our lives easier and connected.  However, in our internet-savvy world, we are beginning to demand more from our brands.  We want them to make us feel alive.  Make us fall in love.  Give us a reason to choose.  Gain our trust.

One of the most fascinating aspects about successful brands is their new status as “party throwers.”  Brand roles have dramatically changed from being advocates to entering an environment where they are “ambassadors, they’re party throwers,” according to Jennifer Aaker, Stanford Graduate School of Business Marketing Professor and co-author of The Dragonfly Effect.  These new ambassadors invite us into a community of shared interests, and let the party develop from there.

In an attempt to foster engagement, I invited leading marketing experts to weigh in on the question, “What is a social brand?” Here are their essential insights on what businesses should keep in mind:

 Trusting Brands

In a recent Edelman Trust Barometer 2012 survey, social platforms such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook have seen an upsurge in credibility over the past year.  The survey found that the number of times something is seen repeated on Twitter, Facebook or blogs determines its credibility in people’s minds.

So what key unlocks our hearts and minds?

Bill Strawderman, Jr.  (@marketingbard) Executive Director, Online B2B Marketing at AT&T:

“To me a social brand is one that understands the shifting nature of influence and trust, prepares culturally and operationally to embrace interpersonal connections, and intelligently embeds engagement in experiences and touch-points that enhance the value of the brand to its stakeholders.”

Dwight Griesman, (@dgriesman) CMO at Forrester Research:

“A social brand engages in listening and conversation with its customers and potential customers on topics of interest to those communities in order to build trust and credibility that will further its business objectives.”

We’re Not Targets – We’re Audiences

Now, it’s more than technology that ultimately creates engaged relationships. Successful social bands demonstrate a genuine interest in their audience and develop passionate commonalities and meaningful ties.  In today’s networked world, brands need to stop yelling at us.  After all, we’re not targets; we’re audiences.

Catharine Findiesen Hays, Managing Director (@catharinehays) The Wharton Future of Advertising Program:

“Brands have always been ‘social’ as consumers saw ads, selected, used, became loyal and maybe even recommended the brand to others.  But as offline word of mouth has been supercharged and expedited with digital media, the real question now is whether brands are sociable”.  Sociable brands aren’t only about hosting fabulous gatherings of their own (owned media), but importantly about finding continuously new and interesting ways to bring value as social currency to their audience, increasing the likelihood that they will invited to the best conversations, online and off.”

Michael Ancevic (@mancevic) Senior Vice President – Creative Director at Mullen:

“A social brand is one that has embraced and made the transition from being a one-way message announcer to being engaged as a two-way communicator with its customers and fans.  A brand that understands this engagement and how to do it will thrive.  It’s really about handing some of the control of the brand over to those who love it, want to participate with it and want to share in it.  It’s also a brand that makes its content liquid, linked and linkable to make that sharing even easier.”

Steve Olenski (@steveolenski), freelance copywriter/blogger/brand strategist:

“A social brand is one that realizes that they no longer speak to consumers but rather with them. A social brand understands that the key to succeed lies with engagement… real, true engagement. They know that consumers are voicing their opinions from sea to shining social sea and they know they better first, listen, then engage. And stay engaged… else runs the risk of their once-loyal brand ambassadors leaving for greener, more-engaging pastures.”

 Pursuit of Consumers’ & Employees’ Happiness

Companies, both large and small, must become social businesses to create brands that entice us to choose them.  However, if a company cannot communicate well internally, it will not be able to communicate its brands effectively to the public.  In this new era of collaboration, social businesses are transforming and disrupting business as usual, while bringing brands closer to customers.

Nancy Cook of Fast Company informs us that companies are trying to figure out how to use happiness to increase their employees’ productivity and “woo” customers.  In her articles she profiles Jennifer Aaker, who says, “The idea of brands enabling happiness and providing greater meaning in the world is powerful.  People have an aversion to anything that feels overly manufactured.”

Scott Goodson (@scottfrog), author and Founder and Chairman of StrawberryFrog:

“A social brand is one that understands the new and very direct relationship it can now enjoy with its customers.  It also appreciates the power people have to start their own MASS movements, spark change and transform the world. Today’s digital revolution means brands can now build valuable relationships with consumers.”

Kevin Randall, (@kevinbrandall)  brands himself simply “All-Brand guy” at Fast Company and he is the Director, Brand Strategy & Research at Moveo Integrated Branding:

“B2B businesses are inherently social brands yet few exploit this great potential.

To a greater degree than consumer brands, B2B enterprises are selling people, know-how, culture, process, relationship, trust — in essence, a social offering.

And there is no better vehicle for aligning and crystalizing this offering than brand.  A social brand effectively executes on the 4 L’s: It LEADS — the brand is guided by a higher purpose in society and thinks ahead of the category; It LOVES and is loved — the brand’s appeal is emotionally-driven, employees and customers are passionate advocates; it LIVES — the brand is operationalized across the enterprise; and it LISTENS — the brand engages and learns from customers as well as employees.

 Engagement is Not a Campaign

While sharing content is the foundation of successful social brands, most marketers struggle to understand the complexity of increasingly multifaceted social network channels. Here are some words from the wise on this all too familiar challenge:

Brian Solis, author of Engage and The End of Business as Usual: 

“Engagement is not a campaign, it’s a continuum where technology is merely an enabler for a greater vision, mission and purpose. When you engage, you will build an authoritative social network that increases your visibility, relevance, influence and profitability … Engage or die!”

Tim Leake (@Tim_Leake) Global Partnership Director, Hyper Island:

“A social brand is a brand that acts like a (good) person, not a soulless corporation. A social brand is honest, helpful, transparent and friendly – but most importantly, a good listener. If a brand isn’t these things, it’s by definition being anti-social.”

 Does “Liking” a Brand Mean You’re Loyal?

According to eMarketer, data from the CMO Council reveals that “Limited consumer engagement with brands on Facebook may be a disconnect between the reasons why consumers actually ‘Like’ a brand and the reasons brands think consumers are ‘liking’ their page.”  According to eMarketer, 67% of consumers are looking for exclusive offers when they click on the “Like” button. So how do brands respond?

David Aaker (@davidaaker), Vice Chairman at Prophet, author of Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant and blogger at Harvard Business Review and Fast Company.

“To me a social brand is one that has a community that is engaged either around the offering and its application or around an area that matches the customers activities, values, opinions or lifestyle.”

Simply stated, creating relevant brands is no longer an option.  Recognizing how important brand sociability is and will be, companies need to understand what makes a brand social.  They need to begin with their own business strategies, goals and objectives, and a clear understanding of their value set.

This post was originally published on AT&T’s Networking Exchange Blog.

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Marketers are being held increasingly accountable for delivering positive, measurable results that align with their businesses’ goals and objectives. Of course, in order to do this these same marketers must simultaneously learn to adapt in a social media ecosystem that is in perpetual evolution.  Budgets are tighter, goals are higher and the lingering economic uncertainty creates tension that can interfere with strategic planning and results.

In this rapidly evolving, customer-centric landscape, marketers are challenged to elevate their game by raising the relevance of their companies’ offerings, communication and engagement.  While today’s CMOs face a variety of new challenges, they must encourage their companies to seize the opportunity and create relevant content for their brands.  Unfortunately, many corporate executives are still in denial over the profusion of branding opportunities that these social media activities foster.

According to Nielsen’s “The Social Media Report,” social networks and blogs are the top online destinations for Internet users, accounting for 23% of the time Americans spend online.  Pew Internet and American Life Project’s August 2011 report states that nearly two-thirds (65%) of all adult Internet users now use social networks.

Forrester’s Brian Kardon encourages executives to play with social media, to “experiment” and to not be afraid of testing out new ideas or opportunities.  “You can always take it down,” according to Kardon.  Marketers should banish the thought that everything is permanent.  With over 156 million published blogs, there is a tremendous churn.  “Some work really well and some don’t survive,” says Kardon.

“No matter what, the very first piece of
social media real estate I’d start with is a blog”

Chris Brogan, Keynote Speaker, Founder New Marketing Labs

While most companies are moving in the right direction, many companies stand on the brink of blogging, but are unwilling to take the plunge.  However, as they say in sports: you can’t win if you’re sitting on the bench.  And it’s all about winning.  There’s no doubt business blogging has a tremendous influence on business growth.

In a 2011 HubSpot ROI Study, 69% of businesses surveyed said that blogging attributed to their lead generation success.  The study also found that 75% of businesses believed SEO was a primary factor.  Finally, the study found that companies who blog attract 55% more website visitors than those that do not.

Source: HubSpot

Marketing Your Blog is Critical to increase ROI

Marketing your blog is just as important as writing great content.  The end goal of all quality writing should be to foster thoughtful communities. Unfortunately, many enterprises and small businesses fail to build these communities because they fail to promote their content.

Curation Syndication

Creating communities begins with offering great content that is not only engaging but relevant.  Streamlining this content is often easier than many realize.  Just as syndication is a source of profit for TV and radio producers, “curation syndication” also functions to maximize profits for businesses of all sizes. This approach has proven extremely important for mid-to-small businesses for website traffic and lead generation.  SMB’s lack the luxury of big business budgets to publicize their blogs.  As a result, “curation syndication” is the secret sauce that brings an explosion in traffic, engagement and lead generation for SMB’s.

Tom Pick, in his article, “How to Get More Blog Traffic,” credits “curation syndication” sites  B2B Marketing Zone, Social Media Informer and Social Media Today for building his website traffic, although he also notes that the best syndication sites will vary by industry.

Now considered to be one of the top 25 small business blogs and one of the top 100 overall business news blogs, Business 2 Community (@B2Community) syndicates over 2,000 contributors and posts up to 50 blogs a day.  Co-founded by Michael Brenner, Brian Rice and Dan Criel, Business 2 Community helps marketers deliver value and awareness to their target audience in an affordable new approach.  “We are looking to add a newsletter, a directory for our bloggers to list their businesses, job listings, additional community opportunities and maybe even some form of gamification,” according to Brenner.  Brian Rice’s Business 2 Community’s goal is to “create an open community where professionals and businesses can connect with one another and the consumers of their products and services.”

Nick Robinson of Social Media HQ claims that since syndicating content to Business 2 Community, he has seen a significant unique traffic increase of 50%.  More importantly, he credited Business 2 Community with boosting his conversions by 16%.

John McTigue of Kuno Creative claims that since syndicating with Business 2 Community their website traffic is up over 40% and leads have increased over 30%. Referrals now account for over 15% of all traffic and leads.

Join a Tribe

Another secret to building engaging communities is Triberr, co-founded by Dino Dogan and Dan Cristo.  In Mark Schaefer’s article, “Four Reasons Why I Finally Joined Triberr,” Mark talks about his initial negative experience, but after the site underwent several system changes he now recommends it as an innovative way for bloggers to meet like-minded writers and expand their reach exponentially.  Dino Dogan likes to think of Triberr as an “Industrial strength content distribution network built by bloggers, for bloggers.”

Blog Analytics

Blog analytics gives marketers remarkable insight into their marketing campaigns and helps to increase their blog performances.  In HubSpot’s article, “10 Amazing Blogging Insights Your Analytics Can Tell You,” you will gain actionable insights to increase your conversation rate.  Information overload can overwhelm most marketers, but HubSpot offers a free Ebook to help you improve your marketing effectiveness and optimize your marketing efforts.

Final Analysis

Today, companies are sitting on a gold mine of data that can help them create powerful blogs and ignite their businesses.  It’s a simple process: just start by creating valuable content. Soon, people will spread the word for you, and the customers will be sure to follow.

Don’t worry about making mistakes.  Your clients and potential customers want to know that you’re human.  In fact, you could even consider your own fallibility as part of your blog’s charm.  We human beings are wonderfully imperfect creatures that want to relate and form a bond.  If you portray your brand as a giant faceless corporation, you will never succeed.  Take the plunge, start a blog, but more importantly create a community.  Take your company to the next level and become a social brand.

If you’re meeting resistance from your boss to get on board with social media, you may enjoy watching this video.

This post was originally published on AT&T’s Networking Exchange Blog.

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The transformational trend of social business is disrupting and revolutionizing large and small businesses alike as the world becomes increasingly more interconnected, rewired and reoriented by social technology. Businesses are in the midst of fundamental changes that will neither reverse for stragglers nor offer them mulligans. Innovative leaders must rethink their social strategies and move beyond the linear, process-driven approach to dynamic, collaborative, networked organizations. Executing these changes may prove difficult, but it’s imperative for forward-looking organizations to be competitive in the global bazaar of the digitally powered landscape.

What Does Social Business Really Mean?

Social businesses implement social technologies, strategies and processes that span across their entire enterprise, creating and optimizing collaborative ecosystems of employees, customers, partners, suppliers, communities and stakeholders in a safe and consistent way. To transform into a social business, companies need to have more than a mere linear presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and blogs.

To achieve this, successful businesses must align their core goals and objectives in cross-enterprise collaboration and create a socially integrated organizational blueprint that focuses on people and culture.

Reason for Social Business?

Simply put, unless a company communicates well internally, it will not be able to communicate its brands effectively to the public. Social business deepens internal and external business relationships, which builds brand awareness and in turn drives profits. Companies that embrace social business will build stronger relationships and make better decisions with their employees, business partners and customers.

The State of Social Businesses

This dynamic business model is still in its infancy stage, but this tectonic shift in approach will eventually integrate itself across entire enterprises. As the social networking phenomenon continues to grow exponentially, more forward-thinking organizations will embrace social business’s “holistic” approach to communication.

Humanizing Future Businesses & Brands

Before a business can humanize its brand, it is imperative that it humanizes its business first. This process involves more than just meetings, lunches, phone calls, emails, golf outings or office parties. Instead, such an evolution requires the adoption of social behaviors and communication in every facet of the organization. People don’t think of a brand as a series of departments. Rather, they think of a brand as a whole entity. Businesses must live up to this perception and restructure both internally and externally in order to function as a cohesive unit.

What is a Social Brand?

Social brands are the sum total of the entire customer experience. Marketers constantly struggle to humanize their brands and seize upon opportunities to engage customers across a multiplicity of touch-points and social media channels. Scott Goodson in an article for Forbes claims, “It’s not just about ‘going social.’ It’s about becoming a social business. It’s realizing that marketing doesn’t work like it used to. Today, successful brands become social ones.”

Many organizations have evolved into social brands, but few have developed internal social processes. Behind the corporate firewall businesses are scrambling to engage effectively with their consumers. Despite their frantic efforts, however, their lack of internal communication and processes inhibits sustainable growth. Inconsistency in ROI measurement, corporate governance, culture, technology,  executive endorsement and internal conflict have created a great deal of chaos in many companies which lack the necessary social infrastructure.

Tearing Down Silos & Boundaries

This paradigm shift requires organizations to tear down the silos that keep them from creating future brands that are social, engaging, agile and rife with purpose. The same principles of trust that consumers demand from their preferred brands also apply to the way companies must learn to trust their employees.

Businesses must better define their employees’ roles and responsibilities, encourage cross-departmental communication and collaboration, build trust and encourage a culture of recognizing employees’ skills and talents, connecting metrics with objectives, training and educating, developing governance and policies, crowdsourcing creativity and innovation, and using a collaborative process-driven approach for selecting new technology.

It is imperative that the “turf wars” and dysfunctional deep-rooted behavior that exist between many CMOs and CIOs must cease. As I wrote in my article, “Quest for the Marketing Technologist,” the era of digital engagement demands collaboration between CMOs and CIOs in order for companies to remain competitive and relevant. “It isn’t about making the marketing team or the IT team look smarter, it is all about satisfying the customer’s needs better than the competition.” The effective implementation of social business will improve efficiencies and productivity not only in marketing and IT, but also in the supply chain, HR, sales, marketing, financial, research, etc.  Interconnected organizations will reap the rewards.

We’re in an era of collaboration, regardless of the size of our businesses; companies need to leverage collaboration to become more efficient, innovative and creative. I can think of no better example of effective collaboration than this video clip from the movie Apollo 13, where the seemingly impossible task of putting a square peg into a round hole became possible through the Apollo team’s effective, dynamic efforts.

Is Social the Future of Business?

In my article, “2012 Social Media Business Trends  – Is Social the Future of Business”?, I stated that the migration process from social media to social business will vary depending on the nature, size and strategy of your business. Regardless, the change will happen, and it is in your best interests to begin learning about some of these emerging social trends and tools as you consider how to capitalize on opportunities and achieve your business goals.

In the future, big companies will need to start acting more like smaller companies by connecting all their employees in order to achieve the unified vision of a social business. Conversely, small businesses have an advantage over their larger counterparts. Since both culture and people are essential to social business, small businesses can adapt easier because of their flexibility and ability to change quickly. In today’s digital market, small businesses may function with only a few employees, but their audiences may number in the thousands. Small businesses can leverage social business via their network of business alliances, suppliers, vendors, sub-contractors, freelancers, interns and customers.

Businesses Getting Personal.

In a survey conducted by AIIM, over 50% of organizations consider social business to be either imperative or significant to their business goals. Companies like IBM, Nokia and Ford are fast becoming social businesses by restructuring to put social media at the heart of their business, encouraging internal collaboration and communication and insight sharing. IBM’s white paper, “The Social Business,” states that “Social Business can orchestrate and optimize new ways of generating value through innovation, creativity and utilizing the right skills and information at the right time.”

“People don’t do business with companies.

People do business with people.”

Source:  IBM

IBM’s belief is that it takes networks of people to create business value.

IBM’s definition has three tenants that underpin its social business:

A Social Business is engaged—deeply connecting people, including customers, employees and partners, to be involved in productive, efficient ways.

A Social Business is transparent—removing boundaries to information, experts and assets, helping people align every action to drive business results.

A Social Business is nimble—speeding up business with information and insight to anticipate and address evolving opportunities.

Why is Social Business so Relevant to my Company?

The Social Business Forum answers this question by pointing to the extensive studies that show how social business can accelerate organizational efficiency both internally and externally. A few of the internal benefits include: stronger employee engagement and motivation, better business performance, small travel expenses, richer cross-department collaboration, stronger outcomes from knowledge intensive work, facilities for collective social capital and limiting duplication of effort, etc. Benefits outside your organization include: reduced customer care costs, improved client satisfaction and loyalty, increased lead generation, shorter sell cycles, improved cross-channels to customers, etc.

Fundamental Change

Social business is shaking the foundation of both large and small businesses. While change is never easy, companies that implement the best social media business practices and migrate from rigid to social business models will win in the end. The new social landscape is rich with opportunities as companies are challenged to elevate their relevance and become social businesses.

Jeremiah Owyang, Altimeter Group, shared his latest research on the “State of Social Business”:

This post was originally published on AT&T’s Networking Exchange Blog.

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Forget predictions from Nostradamus or the Mayan Calendar.  Now, we have companies like Recorded Future analyzing semantics and sentiments to foretell the future.  They do this by sorting through thousands of news publications, blogs, tweets, comments, trade journals, government web sites, financial databases, and more. Recorded Future sees ahead “By applying temporal analytics to what is written about the future, and by algorithmically crowd-sourcing the resulting temporal information, we can draw conclusions and gain insight.”

Now even small businesses can tap into the trove of rich data and forward-looking insights.  Quentin Hardy of The New York Times claims the service, once affordable only for big businesses and wealthy institutions, now has a web-based version subscription for $149/month.  “The Web has come to reflect the world,” Hardy quotes Christopher Ahlberg, the co-founder and chief executive of Recorded Future. “We can use that to predict things”, says Ahlberg. With costs dropping and social data continuing to grow, small businesses can consider adding these analytics to their social media arsenal. For those companies that just want to take a quick peek into the future, check out Recorded Future’s free 14-day subscription.

Even the spy agencies are applying these breakthrough technologies to predict revolutions, natural disasters and economic disruptions. Wired Magazine’s Sharon Weinberger writes (“The Spy Who Tweeted Me: Intelligence Community Wants to Monitor Social Media”) “A research arm of the intelligence community wants to sweep up public data on everything from Twitter to public webcams in the hopes of predicting the future.” The project is apparently the brainchild of Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity [IARPA], a relatively new initiative of the intelligence community.

Gaining insights on consumer attitudes and behavior has always been critical for big marketers like Procter & Gamble and Ford, but now tech companies like HP are using social media data to predict success of box office hits, new ideas and products.  Michael Stelzner (How HP Uses Social Media Science To Make Predictions) explores this emerging capability with Bernardo Huberman, director at HP Labs and author of The Laws of the Web: Patterns in the Ecology of Information.  According to Huberman, HP can use certain “mechanisms” and “predict with extreme accuracy box office revenues two weeks before a movie opens”.

While social media monitoring of current trends is not a new phenomenon, bitly, the popular URL shortening and real-time analytics service, now claims, “We See into the Future”.  Through their newly released monitoring service, bitly says they provide a picture of “the future by knowing what is popular and exciting on the Internet before anyone else does.” Bitly uses real-time, collaborative filtering and search weight results by cross-platform social engagement to extract the “ebb and flow of trending topics” identified hours or days before they are picked up by the news, Google or Bing.

And just when you think you’ve heard it all, companies like IBM are scanning social media data to predict women’s heel heights, perhaps taking business intelligence to new heights.

Companies and marketers that can understand and exploit rich sentimental trend data and see ahead, bringing their brands and consumers along on the journey, will enjoy a tremendous competitive advantage.

While there are skeptics and critics of these analytics, it is nonetheless intriguing to consider the predictive capabilities of emerging social media tools. And if you think about it, the less-scientific Nostradamus had a few predictions that didn’t happen, but we still tweet them.  Let’s just hope his 2012 doomsday prediction will be wrong.  That’s one tweet (with our “sentiments” of course) that will be worth sharing!

This post was originally published on AT&T’s Networking Exchange Blog.

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As the end of the year draws near, it’s time to start looking at social media trends for 2012. Businesses should get ready for seismic shifts on the digital landscape.

Competition will intensify as the rules of marketing are further altered by social media, mobile web and all in real-time. For businesses that don’t start embracing social media, 2012 may mark the beginning of their declining growth and profit.

According to Nielsen’s “The Social Media Report,” social media use is commonplace, with over 4 to 5 Internet users engaging in social activity across a wide variety of platforms. Social networks and blogs are the top online destinations, accounting for 23% of time Americans spend online. Pew Internet and American Life Project’s August 2011 report states that nearly two-thirds (65%) of all adult Internet users now use social networks. The skyrocketing growth of social media has broad implications–beyond consumer behavior.

While some businesses are evolving or even transforming how they buy and sell products, many are fast becoming social businesses. In a Fast Company article by Drew Neisser, “Move Over Social Media; Here Comes Social Business” he explains the reasons why every company should be thinking about becoming a social business. According to Neisser, IBM is moving themselves and their clients “well beyond social media into a new era of collaboration, insight sharing and lead generation it calls social business”.

One of the hottest business social trends in 2011, leveraged by both large and small size businesses, has been social commerce. Social Commerce is essentially word-of-mouth applied to e-commerce. According to Brian Solis, “Social Commerce is rising quickly, but this isn’t a story about technology, it’s a story about how and why people make decisions.” Take a look at this amazing Infographic Social Commerce Timeline created by Useful Social Media that depicts the evolution of this new process. Social Commerce is redefining the way brands and consumers interact.

One of the best examples of Social Commerce is the mobile YP.com app which lets you share deals with family and friends via Facebook, Twitter, email and SMS. According to David Williams, vice-president of product management at AT&T Interactive, “Gas is just one of many everyday essentials where a few simple factors: location, price and brand, brought together in a thoughtful design can help direct users toward smarter choices and quicker decisions.”

The process for migrating from social media to social business will vary depending on the nature, size and strategy of your business. But you should be aware of some of these emerging social trends and tools as you consider how to capitalize on opportunities and achieve your business goals.

So what are the social media trends for business in 2012 for….[building communities, brands, mobile, etc.]?

I posed this question to several industry experts (crowdsourced the community) and here is what they had to say:

….for building communities?

Jason Falls (@JasonFalls), author of No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing and CEO of Social Media Explorer.

“Businesses are more and more looking at social media marketing as a strategic business driver now, so you’ll see a lot more insistence on accountability, measurement and quantification of what social media means for companies. From a community building standpoint, that means community managers are going to be challenged to delineate the value of those community members versus non-community members, make logical arguments for why and how a community’s growth is positive for the business and illustrate how they affect the bottom line revenue of a company. It’s going to challenge many to think beyond the comment, like and fan. But it will make us all better.”

…for brands?

Simon Mainwaring (@simonmainwaring), Founder of We First and Author We First

“2012 will be characterized by a far greater number of brands embracing purpose as a strategy to be meaningful to their media savvy and connected customer communities. The most sophisticated brands will focus their attention on increased transparency and accountability inspiring their community to see themselves as partners in the brand’s success and positive social impact. Those that continue to resist the business implications of social technology will quickly lose market share and disappear as the same dynamics playing out in the political sphere around the world become commonplace in the private sector.”

…for mobile?

Chuck Martin, (@ChuckMartin1) CEO, Mobile Future Institute and Director, Center for Media Research, MediaPost. Author of the Third Screen: Marketing to Your Customers in a World Gone Mobile

“In 2012, mobile will move to center stage in social, as everyone has a phone, with close to a majority of those being smartphones. Location-based messaging between people, and especially between people and businesses of all sizes, will increasingly be initiated by individuals as they tap into their personal networks and networks of those around them to seek and share information. Besides being highly personal, mobile will become the social conduit.”

…for customer service?

Porter Gale, (@portergale), Marketing Consultant

“In 2012, more companies will consider use of social monitoring and analytics to help them understand sentiment, key influencers and the types of people chatting about their brand. In addition, growth of the social space will raise the importance of dialog between customer service groups and social media teams. This improved collaboration can lead to an integrated plan to better handle inquiries via the various channels.”

…for crowdsourcing?

Peter H. LaMotte, President, GeniusRocket, Inc.

“2012 will be the year that “Crowdsourcing” stops becoming a buzzword and starts becoming one of the most cost effective ways for small to medium sized business to engage their stakeholders. The term too often associated with contests, is actually a reliable means of message virality and real-time engagement. Marketing, customer service, sales, and PR can all be given a huge boost through the use of their crowd, especially via their social media platforms.”

…for small businesses?

Jim Joseph (@JimJosephExp), President of Lippe Taylor, Author of The Experience Effect for Small Business

“Biggest trend in social media for small business? One that has already started but now many are getting the fruits of their labor: networking. Finding each other to share stories and learning. Finding talent to join the business. Finding prospects to try to convert to customers. For networking, social media is the small business owners’ best friend.”

…for retail?

Doug Stephens ( @RetailProphet) President, Retail Prophet

“With the advent of in-network apps like Spotify, Hulu and Netflix directly within Facebook, users are going to rapidly gain a sense of comfort with the idea of Facebook as a marketplace. In 2012, the trend will be toward the addition of other non-digital shopping apps on Facebook, allowing consumers to literally buy goods and services directly from their Facebook Timeline. Things like gym memberships, vacations, cleaning services and more will become available on Facebook.”

…for B2B?

Billy Mitchell (@BillyMitchell1) Billy Mitchell- MLT Creative, Partner/Senior Creative Director

“2012 will further separate the pretenders from the purposeful. B2B marketers that don’t take ownership of social media as part of a strategic inbound engine will be an endangered species by the end of 2012. Small businesses will realize Social Media is far from free and the trend will be serious budget increases for creating content, automating tools, and the human resources to sufficiently scale engagement with their marketplace.”

…for technology?

Scott Brinker, President and CTO of Ion – Author of Chief Marketing Technologist blog

“In 2012, marketing technology will continue to converge. We’ll see social media features embedded into more products, from CRMs and marketing automation systems to web content management and landing page optimization platforms. These technologies that reach deeper into the customer experience lifecycle will reveal more nuanced metrics for tying social influence to business value. Likes, follows, and +1′s will be more meaningful in the context of specific customer experiences rather than an abstract performance measurement unto themselves.”

…for marketing?

Michael Brenner (@BrennerMichael) – Sr. Director, SAP Global Integrated Marketing – Co-Founder of Business 2 Community

“’The social media trend for business in 2012 will be less media or marketing and more social. Social media will move beyond marketing, PR and customer service and will become an extension of an entire businesses employee, customer and partner base. Real-time response management, tracking and alerts will be the tools of choice. Response managers will be on the hiring plans of many more companies and social selling will begin to become a reality in many more organizations. In effect, we will start to see businesses truly engaging with the market in a people-to-people model.”

…for SEO?

Tom Pick (@TomPick) Online Marketing Executive - KC Associates. Award Winning Blogger at Webbiquity

One key trend for social media and SEO in 2012 will be resonance. A resonant piece of content (blog post, video, infographics, etc.) combines quality research and thought with an issue that prospective customers really care about (e.g., using technology to better engage buyers early in their buying process). Resonant content is more likely to be read, shared and commented upon. That sharing across social media sites and networks in turn will drive search traffic to the content, further increasing its reach and impact. Companies will need to do keyword research in addition to experimentation with different messages in order to determine which phrases and concepts truly resonate with their audiences.

…for advertising?

Michael Ancevic (@mancevic) Senior Vice President – Creative Director at Mullen

“Social media is truly now the mainstream media. So one of the big trends next year is that social will continue to become nearly everyone’s primary source of content and interaction. Because of this, we will see early adopters who have learned along the way to make their advertising content relevant and interesting finding that it becomes easier and easier to ride this trend and get their customers to pass content along for them. Of course like any successful marketing campaign if that content accurately reflects the strategic business objective, it’s a huge win with positive long-term implications.”

…for PR?

Wendy Marx, (@WendyMarx) President – Marx Communications

“Social Media for PR is evolving from a listening post and ratings game to a strategic tool that provides insight and analytics into customers, prospects, competitors and thought leaders. Never before have PR practitioners had the opportunity to gain real-time insight into customer, prospect and competitor behavior and be able to shape conversations based on that data. We will see more data crunching and analysis and more strategic and targeted responses. As more and more content moves to mobile, we will also see more creative uses of content, more app development and more use of the comment function for thought leadership. New forms of press releases optimized for mobile readers will evolve. PR will also embrace new types of content marketing geared to mobile. All in all, it will be a productive time as PR rises to meet the technological opportunities.”

This post was originally published on AT&T’s Networking Exchange Blog.

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Everyone seems to have a Twitter handle these days: News reporters, celebrities, restaurants, friends, and your business contacts. Twitter usage has skyrocketed to over 100 million active accounts. Moreover, this dynamic social medium can be the X factor for your business. A game-changer, Twitter offers you the ability to strategically build and leverage your business brand.

Yet, while Twitter’s audience continues to grow in popularity, many businesses have not harnessed its power. One possible reason many companies are not adopting or mastering the tool: Twitter is not intuitive. Few of us are immune from inertia and resisting new ways; but oftentimes once we have concrete steps to follow, we feel we can do almost anything. So before you add Twitter to your things to do “whenever” list, ask yourself this question, “Can I afford not to give it a try?”

Here’s your first step – download HubSpot’s free eBook: “How to Use Twitter for Business – An Introductory Guide” for 2011. This guide is a great resource for getting started, Twitter etiquette and lead generation ideas.

Engaging Your Customers

Depending on the nature of the business and goals, companies use Twitter effectively in different ways. Although, fundamentally, the common denominator is that they are actively “engaging” with customers and building communities. By not engaging, businesses risk squandering great opportunities to build desired brand awareness and perceptions, and shape their marketing messages. Yet, one of the biggest mistakes many enterprises make is that they start using Twitter without first assessing their situation and identifying aims. Before you start tweeting, you should carefully think through and determine the specific goals that work best for your business. See list below:

15 Key goals and objectives for businesses using Twitter:

1. Generating awareness and leads
2. Servicing customers
3. Expanding reach and creating buzz
4. Sharing thought-leadership & participating in industry conversation
5. Gaining competitive intelligence
6. Monitoring your brand’s reputation in real time
7. Building relationships with community
8. Distributing rich, SEO content
9. Offering special discounts, white papers, eBooks
10. Crowdsourcing ideas, products, etc.
11. Finding, cultivating influencers and brand advocates
12. Obtaining customer feedback on potential or new offerings
13. Developing relationships with bloggers and journalists for PR
14. Recruiting for freelancers or permanent hires
15. Establishing brand leadership position by communicating, reinforcing vision, purpose, differentiation, relevance, etc.

Requiring no more than 140 characters (in a tweet) for interaction, Twitter can be used on PCs and mobile devices. It has become one of the largest platforms in the world for sharing real-time data. According to a recent report by Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than half (54%) of Twitter users access their service on a cell phone. Small business owners can use a Twitter app to communicate, engage, network, share and drive their business forward.

Leveraging Smart Phones and Smart Apps

A new survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) tells us that more than half of smart phone owners say they will use their device to “research products, redeem coupons and use apps to purchase holiday gifts”. Consumers have learned to rely on their phones to help them do more. By researching products and comparing prices via their smart phone, busy consumers realize another benefit: saving time.

Money certainly talks and there isn’t a better way to reach cell phone users than by helping them find cheaper gas prices. Now users can simply turn on their cell phone to find the nearest and lowest gas prices by using the AT&T YP^SM app. It doesn’t end there. You can also find nearby businesses and deals including discounts, coupons, and specials. This isn’t just easy, it’s fun! What’s even more exciting is that the YP^SM app lets you share with family and friends via Facebook, Twitter, email and SMS.

Building communities is important for any business relationship. Once you understand the magic of a powerful social media community you become addicted, and ideally, more enlightened and productive. Here’s an example. I posed a question on the topic of “engagement” via a Twitter DM (Direct Message) by tapping into the community (using #7 and #10 Key Goals & Objectives) and here’s what these thought-leaders emailed to me:

“How do you use Twitter for business to engage your audience?”

Tom Pick (@TomPick) – Online Marketing Executive at KC Associates.

“Just as many of your customers are probably on Twitter, so are your prospects. They care far less about your advertising than about what your customers are saying about you, and how you respond. An active Twitter presence enables you to demonstrate strong customer service, rather than just claiming you offer it (after all, who advertises poor customer service?).”

Ted Rubin (@TedRubin) Chief Social Marketing Officer -Collective Bias and Social Marketing Strategist – MARS Advertising

“Tweet to keep your brand on your followers’ radar, to answer questions, to provide value… to build relationships! Remember… trust is built upon interaction, when you’re true to your word, authentic, and genuine. To build relationships, you (as a brand or individual) have to engage, interact and be responsive.”

Marjorie Clayman (@MargieClayman) -Director of Client Development – Clayman Advertising

“It has to be about helping others, not promoting yourself. Self-promotion is okay, don’t get me wrong. But if you are here to grow your business, ultimately you need to establish yourself as someone representing a company that is all about the customers and prospects.”

Jamie Crager (@JamieCrager) – Founder of CROWDSHIFTER Media

“It can be as simple as retweeting someone, asking questions and mentioning them in a positive way. You can gain valuable insights that will lead you to ‘knowing’ your audience so you can provide the best content that adds value to their business and lives. Not only will this create wonderful friendships and a loyal fan base, but opens opportunities in a wide variety of ways for you to grow your business & income.”

Gini Dietrich (@ginidietrich) – Chief Executive Officer – Arment Dietrich, Inc.

“We use Twitter to network, build relationships, and stay top-of-mind, both with prospects and current clients. It has allowed us to become further integrated into our client’s businesses instead of being seen just as that firm that helps us execute some things that aren’t always tangible. It has contributed to more than half of our new business this year. As well, it’s our number three driver of traffic to Spin Sucks. We’re big Twitter advocates!”

Kevin Randall (@kevinbrandall) – Director, Brand Strategy & Research – Moveo Integrated Branding “Some brands support their brand positioning by using the MEDIUM in an on-brand way while others tweet CONTENT that articulates their brand purpose and personality. Of course the ideal for any brand is to coherently marry how you say it (channel & actions) with what you say (content and words). We all know brands that do this well, that have built high social currency: Zappos, JetBlue, Whole Foods, to name a few. Not long ago these were small businesses. ”

Michael Brenner (@BrennerMichael) – Sr. Director, SAP Global Integrated Marketing

“I believe we owe it to our companies to be brand ambassadors and that we also owe it to ourselves as marketers and business professionals to have a voice in the market. The objective of personal branding is to showcase your unique skills, experience and perspective on the world. The ultimate goal is to achieve professional success.”

Brian Rice (@BrianSRice) – Sr. Marketing Manager, SAP Global Social Media Marketing

“The value of Twitter for businesses is the ability to listen to and engage in real-time conversations with prospects and customers. In order to be successful, you must focus on adding value to the conversations and humanizing the brand through one-to-one interactions that help to establish thought leadership.”

Steve Farnsworth (@Steveology) – Chief Digital Strategist at Jolt Social Media

“Where companies and senior executives usually go off the rails in developing a strategy for social media is seeing the shiny objects and getting distracted. Instead they need to stop and look at the process they want to influence, and decide where they want to take that conversation.”

Wendy Marx (@WendyMarx) – President, – Marx Communications, Inc.

“Most of my tweets are used to build credibility and relationships. I do this by providing industry-related news/tips as well as engaging with biz experts and prospects. Then, when I finally ask people to view something off Twitter, like a new blog post, they respond.”

Watch Laura Fitton (@Pistachio) Laura Fitton Inbound Marketing Evangelist, @HubSpot – Founder @oneforty [video]. Laura recommends great Twitter tools for businesses in her video and suggest you check out oneforty.com for a listing of Twitter tools for business, including reviews and ratings.

Laura Fitton Interview from Michael A. Stelzner on Vimeo.

AT&T has sponsored the above blog post.

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“Simply irresistible brands”

What makes a brand irresistible? Let’s start with a common understanding by asking a simple question: What is a brand?

Branding is most typically associated with marketing elements like names, trademarks and logos. But, a brand is actually defined by a combination of factors. Like an iceberg, only a small piece breaks the surface. Signs and symbols are indeed only part of the definition.

Let’s start with perhaps the most recognizable definition of a brand:

“Simply put, a brand is a promise…

it delivers a pledge of satisfaction and quality.”

– Walter Landor

Here is an excellent definition from Fred Burt, Managing Director at Siegel+Gale, London, who provided his definition in a recent interview on brands that appeared in Blue Focus Marketing’s blog:

“A brand is a reason to choose.”

Fred Burt, Siegel+Gale

Here is my favorite definition:

“A brand is the sum total of the entire customer experience.

A collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer.”

– Mark Burgess, Blue Focus Marketing

Emotional Capital

Every brand carries some level of emotional capital based on how the consumer feels about the brand experience. Whether these levels are high or low depends on factors such as brand image, personality, energy and ability to satisfy their needs.

Brand Challenge

Today, the challenge for brands is to manage the entire spectrum of marketing elements across all consumer touch points to positively impact the target audience. Not an easy task. For example, what is the impact when your favorite laptop experiences an issue and you call tech support. You may get one of these outcomes: a) no answer, b) answers but transfers you 2 or 3 times, c) hangs up or d) just cannot fix the issue. Let’s say these issues persist the next 2 to 3 times you call. How do you feel about your favorite brand now?

Interbrand’s Best Global Brands – 2010 Rankings

Interbrand’s list of the Best Global Brands shows that 9 out of the top 10 are U.S.-based including Coca-Cola, IBM and Microsoft. Google, an innovative and aggressive brand, worked hard to move up from #7 to #4, having moved far beyond its search engine roots.

Building on a great year, Apple improved its ranking from #20 to #17. It is hard to think of another brand with the power and sheer “coolness” of Apple. Yet, it is puzzling why Apple isn’t higher on the list. Would you wait overnight, outside for the privilege of buying any “other” brand’s products?

Resurrection of the Apple Brand

Back in 1997, Apple needed to address some simple yet very significant questions such as: who are we, what do we stand for and where do we fit in this world? The answers to these questions led to the famous “Think Different” ad campaign. Apple basically used this campaign as air cover to go out and change the world. Did they succeed? Just ask Microsoft.

Leading brands earn their reputation by engaging customers. Branding is all about creating a meaningful point-of-difference. But, standing out in today’s cluttered environment demands more than having a difference. It demands finding a way to cut through and deliver a unique benefit that makes your competition’s message irrelevant. How many brands can you think of that do this?

Verizon Wireless – Point-of-Difference is in their DNA

When you think about powerful brands that are built on a singular positioning that is not only meaningful but relevant to its target (consumer or B2B) you can’t help but think about Verizon Wireless. While their arch nemesis, AT&T, flaunted the iPhone, the folks at Verizon Wireless dug in and created a partnership with Google. Now, the iPhone has come to Verizon and the game will change again. The reason Verizon may ultimately take significant market share from AT&T isn’t because it is now able to sell the iPhone, but because the brand is perceived as being the best wireless network. However, even the best brand can still fail if it does not realize that brand choices are based on the entire package the consumer buys. The Verizon brand is much more than the physical cell phone you purchase or even their network. It represents the sum total of many components. Let’s look at a few:

• Network: the quality, breath and speed that carries and completes calls + the LTE 4G network

• Devices: sell not only the latest phones but now the iPhone

• Tech support: e.g., outstanding BlackBerry data and voice support

• Calling plans: meeting users needs for voice and data services

• Product packaging and instructions: easy to understand and use

• Warranty: again, easy to understand

• Customer Service: response time and quality of support

• Clarity and accuracy of the bill

• Performance of add-on services: e.g., the VZ Navigator GPS

Let’s talk for a minute about the importance of add-on services. Driving through Queens, east of NYC early last year, I was lost when my GPS connection died. No maps and out of luck, I phoned Verizon tech support. The only short term solution to get back to New Jersey, was for the rep (David) to provide turn-by-turn instructions to the Manhattan Bridge and a sure path to Jersey. Not only did he save the day but he credited my Verizon account for $9.99 (one month of VZ Navigator service). When a brand goes out of its way to help customers, it is rewarded with more than continuous service. The loyal customer reaches that magical stage called advocacy. In this case, David’s name soared throughout the Twitterverse with this customer’s praise. On that day, Verizon Wireless, was a simply irresistible brand.

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The onslaught of new digital technologies, decline of traditional methods of reaching customers and the increased use of social media, doesn’t exactly make being a CMO an easy job. Forrester’s advice to CMOs: “Elevate digital to the highest level of business strategy.” (source: Forrester Report “CMOs must connect the dots of the online brand.” Mary Beth Kemp-Forrester, July 27, 2010)

If ever there was a time to engage consumers, battle competitors, and disrupt the marketing status quo – it is now. Google has just introduced Google+, a new social networking service to compete with its arch rival: Facebook. Google spent several years trying to succeed in the social networking space that included two failed entries in Google Buzz and Google Wave. But, after all, it is Google, one of the most respected and valued brands in the world. So, when Google introduces a new social networking site to compete with Facebook, you know their goal is nothing short of total market disruption.

But, how does the CMO know if Google+ can be as powerful for marketers as Google says it is? Should CMOs cautiously wait until their competitors test and implement Google throughout the enterprise? Or, is it time for CMOs to grasp the G+ sword and lead the charge?

Referring to the launch of Google+ Chris Brogan said in a video last week:

“There’s magic in that silk hat.”

Ford is Fully Engaged in the Business Beta

Ford is an old brand with a new life and a whole new attitude. This is the same brand that unveiled its 2011 Ford Explorer on Facebook (via a paid and earned media blitz) with a plethora of chat, video, photo and other Facebook tools to generate interest and excitement. Ford is now proactively working to understand how to use and leverage Google+, participating in a special Google+ business beta. Ford is off to a strong start, using Google+ differently than Facebook. Ford’s (very) early view, according to Scott Monty, Ford social media expert, “The company’s Google+ page won’t be simply a retread of some of its previous social media efforts.” Christian Oestlien, lead product manager for social advertising at Google, said “they’re (Ford) doing some incredibly cool stuff like the ‘hangout’ … it’s the kind of stuff we’re looking to test.”

Dell is Engaged with Google+ Hangouts

Michael Dell’s personal use of the video chat platform on Google+ led to his sending this crowdsourced question: “I am thinking about (Google+) hangouts for business. Would you like to be able to connect with your Dell service and sale teams via video directly from Dell.com?” The reaction to Michael’s post was overwhelmingly positive. Even though Google hasn’t opened its social network for businesses yet, Dell is evaluating Google+ to benefit his business. Michael Dell is a strong example of an executive who can visualize an opportunity (and outcome) even before it can be executed.

According to VentureBeat, Google+ will launch business profiles with analytics as well as more sophisticated sharing options, all coming during Q3 2011.

Indeed, is it time for CMOs to grasp the G+ sword and lead the charge? Or, is it time to wait and see? So, ask yourself, is Google+ a digital disruption for CMOs? Then, compare your answer to the responses from our 20 experts below.

Blue Focus Marketing asked this question to 20 experts

Do you see Google+ as a disruptive force for CMOs?

Patrick Adams, @PAdamsNY, CMO, Victoria’s Secrets – “On G+ as a disruptive force? Not sure we know enough about it and how it is going to be used. Too new at this point. Folks seem to be really poking around and exploring its potential. So – not sure.”

Edward Boches, @edwardboches, Chief Innovation Officer, Mullen – “Not disruptive. See it as a huge opportunity (assuming some level of scale) for community, segmentation, deeper engagement, etc.Google+ will probably be used different than Facebook. FB is a place to collect fans and blast out content. My initial thought, too soon to tell. Reaction is that Google+ will have more ways to use it productively.”

Chris Brogan, @ChrisBrogan, New York Times best selling co-author, Trust Agents, social media guru, consultant – “Yes insofar as Google+ ties tight to search.”

Christopher Burgess, @BurgessCT , Social Media/Social Network Security Advocate, Author – “Secrets Stolen, Fortunes Lost“, Website, Blogs at: Huffington Post, Cisco Blog, Personal Blog, – “Google+ brings to the table the ability to Tweet, Comment, Share, Engage and put limits around each of these, while combining the best features of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. The fact that it can integrate seamlessly with YouTube and the remainder of the Google Suite, provides a powerful plus-up for the creative CMO. Does that mean the CMO should abandon prior investments, absolutely not, they should double-down and ensure Google+ is a part of their ecosystem as they engage their clients, customers and partners.”

Mark Burgess, @mnburgess, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Blue Focus Marketing and blogs at Blue Focus Marketing Blog, Blue Focus Marketing Workshops, gplus.to/mnburgess “Change doesn’t always need to be scary. I believe CMOs should start with the premise that new opportunities can lead to the next competitive advantage. A proactive approach (as opposed to wait-and-see) means you evaluate, test and assess. Determine early if game-changer-like qualities exist. Another dimension that’s getting intense digital ink is SEO. Search is Google’s sweet spot and a multi-billion dollar business. Google’s search algorithms are more closely guarded than the formula for Coke. Will Google+ content have an advantage? Google+ brand pages are coming (3Q11) and may lead to a killer ad platform with higher levels of targeting and relevancy than Facebook. Google may be late to the party but is in this battle to win.”

Daniel Charboneau, @dcharb10, Vice President Strategic Partnerships, Spigit – “Not yet, Google Plus has the potential to become a very disruptive force to the CMO. If Google+ embraces its potential as an identity data provider, leverages the Angstro acquisition to deliver quality, context, and relevance in user’s streams, and provides a path beyond content to participation and engagement with brands. Right now it’s just a Facebook with better controls.”

Joe Fernandez, @JoeFernandez, CEO and Cofounder of Klout. – “If you are a CMO and just now feeling disrupted with Google+ you are probably in a hole you are not going to be able to get out of. Google+ is an evolution of a process that is already well under way. If it takes Google+ to get you thinking about conversations, engagement and the power of the individual then it’s too late.”

Howie Goldfarb, @skypulsemedia, Chief Alien, President and CEO – Sky Pulse Media – “Since Facebook Brand Pages in my opinion have been utter failures for marketing and with social media still not moving sales needles for major brands, as a CMO, I would not be worried about G+ being a disruptive force. What Google will do much better than Facebook is targeted digital advertising to the network members which could have a big impact on a CMO’s digital spend performance.”

Anthony Kalamut, @SouthsideAdguy, Professor, Program Coordinator, Chief Enthusiasm Officer, Seneca College, Creative Advertising, blogs at “A View From An Ad Guy” – Google+ could be a total “game changer.” CMO’s who failed to engage with the early social media flavors of the day will see Google+ and its total engagement package that brings together the largest inventory of search, data and now the social communication potential to share like nothing else in the current landscape. IMHO Google+ may simplify and define the difference between ‘Like’ and ‘Want’ for CMO’s. You end up going to Facebook because you might ‘Like’ something, when your starting point is Google it’s generally because you “want” something and are looking for information or engagement. Google+ will curate that process in one place and ready to share with your circles, blog, email… CMO’s need to learn,’want’ is greater then ‘Like’.”

Ben Kunz, @BenKunz, Director, Strategic Planning, Mediassociates, blogs at ThoughtGadgets.com and moonlights as tech columnist at Bloomberg Businessweek. – “No. Marketing begins with understanding consumer behavior, and consumers ‘using social media’ is a new communication norm that like sex, eating chocolate, email or watching movies has stabilized in behavior. But the truth is this social behavior remains a fraction of each consumer’s day. The hours spent per day in media use still remain predominantly in TV and radio, followed by outdoor exposure driving in long commutes to work, with Internet use and social media its subset being a minority. (Go Google studies by Pew, Scarborough, Mediamark Research, Simmons, Nielsen, or Wired co-founder Kevin Kelly for proof.) Within this minority, Google+ is a new ‘channel’ in the cacophonous media stations called social. Google+ has a clean interface, nice videoconferencing, and intuitive privacy Circles that may grab 20% of Facebook’s audience in the next two years. But it’s no revolution. Facebook, the current incumbent leader, may be making money in advertising, but its ads pale in effectiveness, in conversion rates, in costs per sale. If the social-media leader can’t make social media marketing work, who says Google’s little shiny toy-thing will, either?

So CMOs, try Google+, establish a presence, add it as a prong to your media plan. But disruptive? No more so than the big bills social media consultants will send you professing it to be so. Consumers aren’t ignoring you in this new space; they are simply carrying on the conversions that always happened apart from your brand.” Tim Leake, @Tim_Leake, “Creative Director & Solution Creator”, Saatchi & Saatchi, – “No, I don’t see it as a disruptive force for CMOs. Right now, Google+ is “Betamax” to Facebook’s “VHS”. It does the same thing as Facebook, only better. But it needs more people to use it. It’s not a revolution. It’s just a smart company focusing on user experience — something Facebook lost sight of, for some reason.”

Wendy Marx, @wendymarx, President, Marx Communications – “Suspect Google+ will be the next big thing and imagine more CMOs will use it than other social media. Combines the best of Twitter and FB and makes it much easier to engage and have a group conversation.”

Gail Nelson, @Gail_Nelson, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Siegel+Gale – “Social media platforms come and go, and Google+ may or may not become a place that CMOs go to listen to customers, learn and spend marketing dollars. In part, brand will play a role. Does Google treat users with respect and consistently abide by the principles of simplicity valued by its consumers? If so, CMOs certainly will have to keep an eye on Google+.”

John J. Nosta, @JohnNosta, Chief Marketing EVP, Chief Marketing Innovationist, Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide – “Anytime a major stakeholder makes a market move, disruption is usually close at hand. This instance with Google+ is no exception. And given the existing players in the market, disruption is required. The current state of digital communication almost demands a certain threshold to user capacity. The collective time a given user spends on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, etc., isn’t endless (while some think so) and this requires a conversion strategy vs. another adoption model. Will Google+ be disruptive? Almost certainly, as it shakes the tree to move users away from other sites to theirs. Of course this can result in a an overall growth in the market (people will join more networks) but ultimately, users and the user interface with cause gravitation to the “winners” and away from the losers. Hey…anyone remember AltaVista?”

Andreas Ramos, @Andreas_Ramos, Director of Strategy of Acxiom. – “Too early to say anything about G+. However, look at Google Trends: the level of interest is 50% of the peak two weeks ago. That is very disturbing data. It should be not merely climbing, it should be accelerating.”

Bill Roden, @billroden, Integrated Creative Director, TBWA\Chiat\Day – “I know it’s a tired phrase, but “right content + the right consumer +the right channel = the right relationship” is digital-marketing math few agencies and CMO’s truly follow. The Circles component in Google + has amazing potential for content segmentation. It’s integrated with a host of Google-powered social channels. Gmail integration in the Google + toolbar is a boon for earned media. And then there’s there’s this little thing called Google Search indexing Google + activity. One issue I could see with Circles is potential consumer frustration with duplicated messaging with shared content. Either way, it’s not the size of your network. It’s how you use it. And Google + may have finally cracked the social code for smarter consumer segmentation.”

Alex Romanovich, @alexromanovich, CMO, EuroSpaClub; Member, Advisory Board – The CMO Club – “Google+ still needs to prove itself to be a viable, ROI driven marketing platform for the CMOs, before it is considered a ‘monetize-able channel’. Early signs of engagement are strong in terms of user adoption, yet as always Google needs to prove itself in the Enterprise. Facebook is not going out of business any time soon, but great time to investigate G+ now.”

Ted Rubin, @TedRubin, Chief Social Marketing Officer – Collective Bias “Amazing opportunity for brands to build interactive 2 way engagement, interaction, sharing, but consumers will have to adopt to make worthwhile.”

Richard Sellers, @Sellers_Richard, Founder, Demand Marketing; Chairman, Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), MENG Blend – “Since it’s way too soon to bury LinkedIn and too dangerous to ignore Google+, individuals, recruiters, and CMO’s need to play both.”

Mike Volpe, @mvolpe, CMO, Speaker, HubSpot @HubSpot – Google+ is another tool, no more disruptive than other social tools. The big disruption today is the shift toward more inbound marketing, which includes not Google+ but also other social tools, blogging, search, email and social nurturing.

Video will make you “think” and enjoy a good laugh – Google+ vs. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg’s Reaction

Christian Oestlien, Lead Product Manager – Social Advertising at Google: Google+ Update for Businesses

Ford Social Media Chief, Scott Monty, explains the automaker’s presence on Google+

Please add ckburgess and mnburgess to your Google+ Circles…
Just click the circles! Or click links: gplus.to/ckburgessand gplus.to/mnburgess

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Brands Search for the Glue in Social Media

You know the term sticky as memorable marketing that works. So powerful, it heightens brand loyalty and encourages your audience to act. Today, marketers realize expertise must extend beyond media advertising to create selling solutions that thrive in a social media world. In B2B marketing, before you can reach sticky-status your number one goal is to generate cost-effective, high-quality leads. Today, numerous opportunities exist to leverage conversational marketing to accomplish your goals for less.

We’ve all heard the saying: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half” is a classic statement on advertising, credited to John Wanamaker. You can use social media to generate buzz and highly cost-effective leads. Many major brands are leveraging social media including Kodak, Coca-Cola and Ford – with strong results. For example, in July, Ford choose to introduce the new 2011 Explorer — not on network TV — but on Facebook. Yes, Facebook. According to blogger, Richard Read, (Ford’s bet on Facebook: Did it pay off?) Ford’s Facebook marketing generated a 200% bigger return than most Super Bowl ads and did so at a fraction of those commercials’ $2.5 million cost.

According to eMarketer, by 2012, 88% of marketers with 100+ employees will use social media for marketing purposes. This growth rate is up substantially since 2008.

Pursuit of Sticky Marketing Continues

There is still a misperception that once a brand is “Liked” on Facebook, a loyal customer has instantly been created. In reality, it’s just a foot in the door. First, brands need to establish a relationship with the customer, then work to become relevant and ultimately, increase to sticky-status.

Here is a marketing approach that can also help marketers in their quest for sticky marketing. Dr. David Aaker’s new book, Brand Relevance, describes a new approach he refers to as the “Branded Energizer”.

“A branded energizer is a branded product, promotion, sponsorship, symbol, program, or other entity that by association significantly enhances and energizes a target brand. The idea is to find something with energy, attach the brand to it, and then actively manage both the branded energizer and its association with the target brand over an extended time period.”

Dr. Aaker provides these examples of branded energizers: Ronald McDonald’s House, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the Adidas Streetball Challenge. These examples add energy and life to existing brands, have great potential for positive customer engagement in social media, and increase stickiness.

Twitterizing your Knowledge

Twitter is experiencing a 579% jump in unique users (source: Nielsen) and is the fastest growing social networking site. As I (@ckburgess) logon to Twitter each day, I am very aware of the wealth of rich information (articles, video, photos) that is constantly shared. In fact, the term micro-blog doesn’t quite seem to describe this growing worldwide medium.

Twitter users “talk brands”

Digital intelligence experts, eMarketer (June, 2010) reported on the behavior of U.S. Twitter users since connecting with companies/products on Twitter. Highlights:

• 53% of Twitter users recommend the company or product
• 52% talk about the company or product and
• 48% purchase the brand’s/company’s product(s).

Relationships are built, nurtured and rewarded — all in 140 character sound-bites.

Twitter has become the new pipeline for distributing knowledge, free of charge. This is a powerful concept in an era of growing interest in content monetization. The growth possibilities are mind-expanding.

Social Media Marketing is a Journey

Companies worldwide are in the midst of a fundamental transformational journey. Brands need to become more customer-centric and raise the relevance bar. Savvy customers will identify with a brand that speaks to them either on an emotional level or if the brand can help resolve their problems.

Marketers need to identify and engage brand ambassadors throughout social media, communicating holistically across all touch points. Once these brand advocates are identified, they will willingly recommend the marketers’ product/services.

Traditional marketing methods and channels are no longer going to deliver the same results in this new digitally powered landscape. Brands need to connect to their audience, through story-telling via social media to increase their relevancy.

Integration of Social Media within Other Business Functions

According to eMarketer (see chart below) among companies that have 3 or 4 years of experience using social media, 44% say they have already fully integrated social media into their business model. And 26% use multiple social media channels in a coordinated effort.

Socialization of Information

“Content is the new democracy and we, the people, are ensuring that our voices are heard…This is your chance to reinvigorate the tired and aging models of marketing and service, build a corporate brand, and increase revenue, all while paving the way for a brighter, more rewarding, and more prosperous métier*”.

Brian Solis, Engage (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2010)

* Definition: métier – an area of activity in which one excels.”

Companies like Ford, Coca-Cola, Kodak and a host of others have pioneered early uses of social media for business. This will be the year companies in ever-increasing numbers take a serious look at integrating social media into their marketing plans.

Related Posts:

• Brand Against The Machine – A Book Review
• Disaster-Related Promotions Never End Well – KFC’s Facebook Fail
• Emerging from the Silos – Local Teams Pulling for the National Brand
• Who Owns the Account? – Navigating the Minefield of Social Ownership
• The Big, Bold Benefits of Blogging for Business